World expert’s SOS for orangutan

Orangutan expert Dr Ian Singleton, in New Zealand for an
Auckland Zoo-hosted public talk this month, is urging Kiwis
to support a petition to protect vital forest for
orangutans, tigers, elephants and rhinos in North
Sumatra.

The world-renowned Sumatran based
conservationist, who will speak at Auckland’s Bruce Mason
Centre at 7pm on 19 August (International Orangutan Day),
says Aceh Province’s Leuser Ecosystem is a biodiversity
hotspot in jeopardy. It comprises 2.6 million hectares of
protected rainforest, and is the only place on earth where
these four critically endangered species roam together in
the wild.

“Right now, the Aceh Governor is being
pressured by Aceh’s parliament to sign a new law that
would enable new road, timber, mining and plantation
concessions and destroy huge tracts of this forest,” says
Dr Singleton.

“The Leuser Ecosystem is one of the
most important conservation areas on earth, and home to 85%
of the remaining wild Sumatran orangutan population. Whether
or not we have these magnificent great apes, and Sumatran
elephants, rhinos and tigers in 15 years’ time will depend
on decisions being made today. It’s that serious. New
Zealanders, for these and a myriad of other threatened
species in this area, please sign and share the petition at
change.org/leuserheritage
to protect this vital forest.”Dr Singleton, who has
dedicated his life to conserving the orangutan, is Director
of the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Programme (SOCP), a
project Auckland Zoo has supported for over 12 years, and is
co-founder of Earth 4 Orangutans.

In his Auckland
talk, ‘In Your Hands’, Dr Singleton will share his
inspirational journey, latest news and activities from the
field, and what’s needed to ensure a future for this most
peaceful of primates we’re so closely related to –
renowned for its vital role as the ‘gardener of the
forest’.

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